Greg Evans

Oh, Deer: Conserving Georgia's Jewel

I lived in Brunswick, Georgia for three years before moving up to the University of Georgia for grad school. Every chance I got, I would make the short drive to Jekyll Island to hike around the park's maritime forests and spend time on the beach. Fittingly called Georgia's Jewel, it truly is an amazing spot.

Double Take of Ban the Bottle: AGAINST

This piece is part of a “Double Take”, where two parties argue on either side of a premise. A writer does not necessarily share the view they are arguing; instead, this is an exercise to fully flesh out a discussion.  The premise: “Single-serve, plastic water bottles should be banned in the United States.” I am

A Tariff-ible Policy

There's an old joke that goes something like this: teach a parrot to say ‘supply and demand' and you've created an economist. And, honestly, there is some truth to this common trope; after all, economics is not called the ‘dismal science' for no reason. However, even with all the criticisms, the economic laws of supply

Troubling the Water

On August 31, 1854, an outbreak of cholera occurred along Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) in London. Over the next three days, 127 people living in the area died; the count rose to 500 a week later. Most of the nearby residents fled the area, fearing they would also be infected. Instead of fleeing with them,

Rumble Down on the Farm

Will Harris is the fourth-generation owner of White Oak Pastures, his family's 2500-acre farm near Bluffton, Georgia. When he took over the farm from his father in 1995, it was solely a cattle ranch, utilizing modern, industrial methods to raise livestock. However, Harris wanted a more ‘natural' enterprise, and so began the transition from a modern cattle ranch to an organic, food-producing ecosystem. Today, White Oak Pastures raises cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, and geese in a system that emphasizes animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Unfortunately, his earth-friendly ambitions have also turned his farm into a gory battlefield between Bald Eagle and chicken.

Its Common Name is Satan

On October 27, 2016, Mike Wallace, a cotton and soybean farmer from Arkansas, met with Allan Jones, also a farmer and Mike's neighbor. They met along a quiet road between their two farms. Their discussion began civil, but it quickly escalated. Then, suddenly, Jones drew his gun and shot Wallace. The farmer died before paramedics could arrive.

That all you got?

Preparing for the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, George Foreman only considered whether he should be “merciful or not” to the aged Muhammad Ali. Younger and renowned for his unbelievable raw power, Foreman knew Ali would be down early – “just one more knockout victim.” But, come the seventh round, Ali was still up

What's the buzz on bees?

Earlier this spring, Buzz the Bee disappeared from Honey Nut Cheerios boxes in Canada. Burt's Bees dropped the letter B from its lip balm products. Are these clever marketing ploys? Perhaps, but they were designed with a more noble purpose in mind: to raise awareness of disappearing honeybees. And, it's not just companies with apian

Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen…

Welcome to Star Wars week here at the Athens Science Observer. To help celebrate May the 4th – Star Wars Day –  we wanted to take a look at the real life science of that galaxy far far away. There's a scene in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace in which the Jedi

From lead to climate change: a long tradition of denialism

Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence (see previous ASO blogs on the subject, like the ones found here and here), climate change is still regularly denied by a rather large proportion of the U.S. population. Much of this denial may be traced back to certain groups and interests that benefit from the government and other players

Common Sense Conservation

Which Species Should We Save? Situated near the center of Jekyll Island is one of Georgia's most well-known and celebrated conservation programs, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). Since opening in 2007, the GSTC has taken in over 300 injured sea turtles as patients and, impressively, most of them have been released back into the

Putting a Price Tag on Nature

It is a Sunday morning. You are sitting on the front porch, sipping from a cup of coffee, and reading the day's paper. You hear a rustle, look up, and see your dog chasing a squirrel away from his nut-burying chores; you chuckle. Ah, the good life! While it may not be at the forefront

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